Land ho!

Day three of our passage (November 8th) started with yet another midnight watch; this time we were amazed to see a SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral. It started as a giant fireball off our starboard side, then curved to the left across the sky. We could see all the stages of flight; the boosters dropping off and everything. We could not believe our luck to be out in the middle of the sea and get to see the whole thing; you could never see all of that from land.

We were awestruck for a while after that. Midnight watch is apparently where all the cool stuff happens!

Sunrise was another beauty.

We motorsailed all day, and it made for some pretty pictures.

We all marveled that a week earlier, we had been bundled up in foulies, hats, and gloves.

At 1430 the team called land ho, spotting some low slung islands off in the distance. We’d likely make landfall at Powell Cay in a little over an hour. We continued to motorsail along under blue skies and clouds, with 15 knots out of the northeast. No fish yet today, though.

At about 1615 we dropped the anchor at Powell Cay. (It’s apparently for sale; we’ll take two.) We spent a little time putting the boat back together, made some rum drinks to toast our arrival, and put on our swimsuits to dinghy to shore (it’s an abandoned island). First we had a look at the anchor in the super clear water, and then we beelined for shore.

The dinghy was definitely riding low with all of us aboard, and just before we reached the beach, Chris decided it was time to bail out by flipping himself off the dinghy….which threw the weight balance totally off, and sent the rest of us all flipping overboard, too. Luckily the dinghy stayed upright and our electric motor stayed put!

Soft white sand and clear water welcomed us at the spit where we beached the dinghy. Cecelia even spotted a starfish! We all enjoyed the swim and marveled at how lovely the beach was.

With the sun rapidly sinking, we loaded ourselves (carefully!) back into the dinghy and headed back to Oestara. She definitely looks good in the Bahamian waters!

We couldn’t have asked for a better welcome to the Bahamas.

6 Replies to “Land ho!”

  1. I love your description of the Space X launch. I got to see a space shuttle in Austin (on a beautiful clear night) on its way to land in Florida. I ran inside and turned on CNN, and saw it land about 4 minutes later! It was also one of the first to be piloted by a woman. An indelible memory. β™₯️

    1. That sounds awesome. We definitely enjoyed the launch, after we realized the world wasn’t somehow ending. (It’s a bit unnerving to see a giant fireball in the sky after midnight!)

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